The Force is Strong in Aberdeen

No need to travel to a galaxy far, far away — The Force is right there on the main drag in downtown Aberdeen.

Story by Jake Schild, Photo by Kyle Mittan

Figurines – Don Sucher estimates he has more than 100,000 items in the store. Most of the pieces come from collectors who come to the store to sell their old toys or memorabilia. Everywhere you look, you’ll find action figures big and small and Sucher, thinks he has roughly 800 figurines that are still in their original packages.

Don Sucher’s Star Wars Shop on Wishkah Street is chock-full of more than 100,000 items of Star Wars memorabilia, including a life-sized Jar Jar Binks and an enormous Millennium Falcon. It’s a cacophony of action figures, light sabers, posters, photos and any kind of collectible you can conceive of.

Started in 1997, the store has hosted visitors from across the country and the world, and, with the recent new movie, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Sucher says he expects business to pick up.

In order to get the full experience, you need to wander into the intergalactic emporium yourself, but we’ll give you a few of the highlights from a store that is unique to Grays Harbor.

Also seen in the store

MAP: Sucher has kept a guest book at the store ever since it opened. He’s kept track of where visitors have come from and has a world map with pins in each country that has had a visitor at the store. “Almost every country in the world has been here. Probably over 35,000 people have visited our store in the last 18 years,” said Sucher. “I think that’s what makes the store go. I’m not just down here to sell stuff and make money, it’s just a lot of fun, meeting all these interesting people with the same love.”

TVs: There are 12 TVs and running in the store at all times. At least three of the Star Wars movies are played at all times, while other programs running in the store include “Spaceballs”, “Fanboys” and “Flash Gordon.” “My idea was to keep the customer interested,” says Sucher, “so they feel like they’ve entered into the Star Wars universe.”

COBAIN CORNER: Sucher has one section of the store dedicated to Aberdeen’s most famous son, Kurt Cobain. He started handing out fliers that show areas in town with some connection to Cobain after patrons often came in wanting to know more about the late Nirvana frontman. On his homemade map, he includes Rosevear’s music store where Cobain bought his first guitar, the “Come as You Are” sign on Highway 12 and Cobain’s childhood home, to name a few. Sucher estimates he has around 150 items of Cobain memorabilia, including T-shirts, newspaper clippings, books and DVDs. Sucher has even put up for sale jars of dirt from under the Young Street Bridge, a regular hangout for the young Cobain.

“There’s a lot of stuff I should get rid of but, you know, if the price is right, I can’t resist. I get hell from my family, but I say ‘I can’t sell it if I don’t have it. I had a wall hanging here that I’ve had for eight years and somebody bought it last week. This stuff doesn’t age, I mean, it ages, but it’s not like vegetables or clothing that’s going out of style. So I never have to worry about that.”

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